The Baltimore County union. [volume] (Towsontown, Md.) 1865-1909, 1887-12-10
Correspondence Baltimore County Union.
THE EXTENSION QUESTION AGAIN.
What it will Cost the Belt People TO go
into the City-High Salaried Onlcials
Taxes from 81. 90 to $2.2O-Not
q Pleasant Outlook, SO.
TwsLrrH D1srRrcr, November 9Th. 1851

TWELFTH DISTRICT, November 9th, 1887.
Editors Union:-I hope you may find space in
your columns for subject that is agitating the
politicians Of the city and that directly concerns
the citizens of the Belt refer to the scheme for
annexing to Baltimore city part of the county.
The reasons and arguments adduced to beguile the
people of the outlying district to conformity with
the scheme have been ventilated in the daily and
weekly press and do not require attention here.--
Let it suffice to tell those interested in the annex
alton of the suburbs q few plain facts, few re-
suits of the of the absorption of additional
territory. The debt Of the city will be also shout
dered by those gaining admission within the city
limits in addition to pro rata responsibility for
the present county debt, which would make them,
or at least their property, liable for two systems
of Indebtedness of the city and that part of
the county in which they reside or own property.
hepolice department, as carried on at present. is
totally wrong and should be conducted ON more
economical scale, on business basis. In these
days of general business stagnation, when the me-
chanic and laborer is only too anxious to obtain
employment at almost any figure, it should be the
purpose of legislators to reduce expenses of gov
ernment and the police force presents q fertile
field to begin on. Eighteen to thirty dollars are
paid per week for services that twelve to twenty
dollars would sufficiently compensate. The enor-
nous revenue necessary to keep up this establish
ment is an eye-sore to the public, as is also the
almost limitless fund of the public school system
that is wrung year after year from long suffer
ing people. Costly buildings, that are supposed
to be an ornament to the city for the purposes of
schools, should be superseded by solid, plain and
substantial structures. The pay of the lady teach
ers is far in advance of mechanics or artisans and
should be cut down pro rata to correspond with
the wages of men. This is what the people of the
Belt would have the privilege Of enjoying when
items ii police af h lila TpsS6o Schools make up
third of the tax rate. And this is not all. The
addition of part of the county to the city would
necessitate an increase in expenditures In every
department of the city government and instead Of
paving as they do now sixty cents on the hundred
dollars in the county, they would, when they be-
come part of the city, pay about two dollars and
twenty cents-nearly four times as much.
These considerations should induce the people
of the Belt to halt before pronouncing in favor OF
annexation and saddling themselves with an un-
necessary and burdensome tax. And not alone do
the foregoing items stare us in the face, but also
others of great import. The fact that many city
officials and clerks receive salaries beyond the
bounds of reason and economy, and that some in
addition to salary are enjoying outrageous fees
and commissions for collections, should cause each
individual of the Belt to ask himself the question,
"Shall contribute my share towards this mani
fest plunder?" The question may be asked, 'Why
we can't get along without officials, how are you
gong TO carry Ou tue SotcIuHohs "isn"ue
answer this, reduce the higher salaries and take
away the perquisites. Make all officials salaried
officers and all collections to be turned over to the
city treasury. A great deal of public venality
and tendency to dishonesty would be done away
with.
As inality, I might state that bringing the
Belt into the city would create necessity for an
increase in the number of police and of public
school buildings and high salaried teachers; an
extension of police and fire alarm telegraph and
of the fire department; the extension of streets
and enlargement of the scope of the health de-
partment-all the expenses Of which would have
to be borne by the citizens of the annexed terrific
ry. 1t is false logic that claims reduction OF
taxes would follow as a matter of course from an
nexing the Belt to the city. The tax rate would
more likely be increased from 81 go to 1920. Let
the people of the suburbs ponder over the forego-
ing before committing themselves to suicidal
jump into the city limits-suicidal to their in
terests and property. JUSTICE.